


The Dollhouse

by Elle82



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Age Play, Diapers, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pacifiers, Stuffed Toys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 08:59:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4740530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elle82/pseuds/Elle82
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A chance encounter with little Alana’s dollhouse brings some painful memories for little Will to the surface. His lover and caregiver Hannibal helps him through it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is ageplay - all consenting adults, some playing younger than their biological ages. Don't like, don't read.
> 
> Prompts for fic (ageplay or not) always welcome - hit me up in the comments or come say hey on tumblr: puppyxtraining :)
> 
> Should also preface this by saying Will and Hannibal are in an established adult relationship in this 'verse, but also act as little and caregiver from time to time :) Read my other fics, and those of telera, anislandcalledcalifornia and trr_rr for context :)

Even when Will was not little, there were still things that tugged at him, called for his little self when he was in his adult mindset.

They had stopped by Jack’s house on the way home to collect some files. Hannibal had made it clear over the phone that Will was not little, and Jack had reassured him that Alana was not staying with him that evening.

They pulled up to the house and Hannibal turned off the engine, looking at Will.

“We won’t be long, Will. We are just picking up the files, nothing else.”

Will sighed, rubbing his eyes.

“Can I wait in the car?”

“If you were unwell, I would say yes. But we don’t wish to be rude. Come, we won’t be long.”

Will frowned. He wasn’t little. If he didn’t want to go in, he didn’t have to. But he knew Hannibal was right. He prided himself on his manners and Will’s manners too.

Will pulled his glasses out of his jacket pocket and put them on before climbing out of the car. Hannibal knew that when Will did this, when he wasn’t teaching or reading or working, that he wanted that extra layer between himself and the outside world.

Hannibal walked up the front steps, Will following slightly behind.

“Would you like to ring the doorbell?”

Will grimaced.

“Not little right now, Hannibal.”

Hannibal gave a small smirk at Will’s grumpy tone and pressed it himself.

Jack opened the door and welcomed them in, leading them to his study.

“Come in, come in. Can I offer you something to drink?”

“No thank you Jack, we won’t stay long.”

“Are you sure? I was just pouring myself a glass of pinot.”

Hannibal looked at Will. He looked tired. It had been another long week and they were both keen to get home.

“Well, perhaps just one glass.”

Jack clapped his hands together and smiled.

“Excellent. Will? What can I get you?”

Will straightened up, adjusting so he came close to Hannibal’s height.

“I’ll take a beer I guess.”

“Coming right up.”

Jack disappeared down the hall to the kitchen as Will and Hannibal waited in the study.

“Thought we weren’t going to stay long.” Will grumbled under his breath as he circled the room, looking at some of the books on the bookshelf. Hannibal ignored him and stood by the window that looked out onto the garden.

“I must remember to plant those seedlings this weekend. Perhaps you’d like to help me?”

Will remained silent. He felt petulan, tired and irritable.

Before he could answer, Jack returned with two glasses of wine in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. Hannibal sniffed the wine, swirled it around in the glass and took a sip.

“Delightful, thank you Jack.”

“No problem. Now let me get those files.”

As Jack and Hannibal talked, Will downed his beer, only half listening. He was drawn to the dark corner of the room. On a low table sat a large, intricate dollhouse.

Will took another swig of his beer. He peered over his shoulder. Jack and Hannibal had their backs turned to him. He shook off the feeling of naughtiness that crept over him and looked closer at the dollhouse.

It was huge, a large Victorian mansion, double storey with an attic at the top. It was one of the fold-out types, where the front opened to reveal the house inside.

It must have belonged to Alana, Will thought, as he crouched down in front of it. He gave a small smile, the thought of little Alana reacting to his little self, playing with her dollhouse.

Then as quick as the grin appeared, a feeling of sadness overcame him as he remembered his own real childhood and the sparseness of it all.

Very quietly, he dropped to his knees and opened the front of the dollhouse. It was beautiful inside. There was a kitchen and a sitting room with a fireplace on the ground floor. The walls of the sitting room were covered in jacquard wallpaper, with little miniature bookshelves lining the walls.

There were two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. The main bedroom was for the grownups of the house, with a four-poster bed and an armoire in the corner. The other bedroom was a nursery, with a crib and a rocking chair and other baby furniture.

There were three dolls – a mother, a father and a baby doll. Will tentatively reached out, grabbed the father doll and moved it from where it was in the study to the baby’s room, where the smallest doll, perhaps only the size of his pinky, lay in the crib.

The room was silent and Will suddenly felt a presence behind him. It was Hannibal.

“Are you alright Will?”

Will knew at this stage he could remain as is, or he could regress, something he was sorely tempted to do. He looked out the corner of his eye. He could see Jack looking on with interest from the far side of the room. Will adjusted his glasses and stood, finishing off his beer. He was making it clear he would not regress. Not here.

“Yeah, fine. Are you ready to go?”

Hannibal held up the files.

“I have what I came for.”

“Okay. Jack, do you mind if I use your bathroom? It’s a long drive back to Wolf Trap.”

Hannibal’s eye twitched ever so slightly. He had assumed they would stay at his house this weekend, where Will might play and relax after the week they had had. But it seemed Will had other ideas.

“Sure, it’s down the hall, first door on the left.”

Will stalked out and Hannibal looked at Jack who sipped his wine thoughtfully, then gestured at the dollhouse.

“Seems as if your boy took a shine to that.”

Hannibal smiled and peered in. It was indeed a beautiful dollhouse. He took note of where Will had placed the father doll, in the nursery, looking down at the baby. There were no other dolls visible in the house, and Hannibal frowned.

“Yes, it seems he has.”

Will returned, his face damp as if he had washed it.

“Thanks for the beer, Jack.”

Jack put down his wine as he walked Hannibal and Will to the front door, his hand on Will’s back.

“My pleasure Will. Have a good weekend. Try to relax, yeah?”

Will gave a tight-lipped smile and headed to the car, getting into the front seat.

Hannibal turned to Jack, shook his hand, and didn’t miss a beat, speaking quietly.

“Will has removed the mother doll from the dollhouse. I suspect he has it in his pocket.”

“Oh?”

“I’m sure there is a good reason. I aim to get to the bottom of it this weekend. Until then, I hope young Alana does not miss it too much.”

“She has plenty of other toys to play with that I can distract her with. She won’t mind.”

“Thank you, Jack.”

Hannibal got into the driver’s seat and pulled out of the driveway.  

They had gotten as far as around the corner when Hannibal spoke.

“Do you wish to go back to Wolf Trap for the weekend?”

Will shrugged. There was an insolent indifference in it. Hannibal knew he could push Will into regression, or let him come to it himself.

“I had some plans for us this weekend.”

“Us-us, or them-us?”

Hannibal cast a sideward glance at his passenger.

“Either or, Will.”

Will sighed. He was desperate to regress, to indulge in carefree play and care with Hannibal. But the dollhouse and the memory that came along with it made him sad.

Hannibal reached one hand over and placed it on the nape of Will’s neck, where little Will loved to be caressed.

“Tell me what you’re thinking, Will.”

Will leant back into the touch, he closed his eyes and tipped his head back slightly.

“Wanna go home daddy.”

Hannibal glanced at Will, then back to the road. He kept his hand on Will’s neck, stroking the side of his neck with his thumb.

“We’ll be back at the house shortly, darling. Then you can take a bath and we can have some dinner, how does that sound?”

Will nodded, brought his hand up to Hannibal’s and brought it into his lap where he held it as they drove home.

When they reached the house, Will didn’t want to let go of Hannibal’s hand.

“Darling, daddy needs his hand back.”

Will shook his head sadly. Hannibal sighed and unbuckled Will’s seatbelt for him.

“I’ll come around to your side and help you out. I’ll be less than one minute, I promise.”

“’kay.”

They separated hands and true to his word, Hannibal came straight around to the passenger side, opened the door and took Will’s hand again.

Will was not always clingy when he was little. Hannibal could never entirely predict when he would be, but Will had seemed sad and stressed in the afternoon, so he made a note as a trigger for future behaviours.

Hannibal took him to the bathroom upstairs and began to run the bath.

“No.”

“No? Will, we’ll get you bathed then we can have some dinner and perhaps I’ll read you a book?”

Will gave a small pout and shook his head again.

“Wanna shower with daddy.”

Hannibal gave him a smile.

“Alright.”

He steered Will over to the closed toilet and sat him down. Will brought his hand up to suck on the back of his index finger knuckle while Hannibal went to get clothes for both of them to change into: black jeans and a green sweater for himself, and pyjama pants and a long sleeved top for Will.

He held his hand out to Will and helped him stand, pulling his hand away from his mouth. He gently took off Will’s glasses and placed them on the countertop, then began to undress him.

“Did something happen at Uncle Jack’s house, darling?”

Will shook his head as he let Hannibal remove his clothing. Hannibal felt in Will’s pants pocket after he took them off. He felt something hard, and Hannibal knew it was the little mother doll from the dollhouse.

When he had removed his own clothing, he took Will’s hand and led him into the shower, the large space easily accommodating the two of them.

In this situation, it was not sexual. It was never sexual. Hannibal didn’t ask any more questions, nor did Will babble or chat as he was prone to do when little.

Hannibal took a washcloth and ran it over Will’s body, then his own. He washed Will’s hair, using firm but gentle movements.

When they were done, he dressed himself in a robe and wrapped a towel around Will, drying him off.

Hannibal went over the one of the low drawers of the bathroom cabinet and retrieved a pull-up. He half-expected Will’s protestations but he stayed silent while he walked over and knelt down, holding the thick undergarment at Will’s legs and helping him step into them, pulling them up and adjusting them.

Hannibal ignored the hint of the blush that coloured Will’s cheeks. Will brought his hand up again to suck on his finger as Hannibal finished dressing him, then dressed himself.

Will slipped his hand into Hannibal’s as they went downstairs, not before Hannibal discreetly took the little doll from Will’s pants pocket and slipped it into his own.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Hannibal sat Will at the bench in the kitchen while he set about making dinner. He put a colouring book, some crayons and some slices of apple in front of him, along with a sippy cup of juice. Will worked on one of the pages, colouring in carefully between nibbles of apple and sips of juice. 

When dinner was ready, Hannibal cleared the bench and set down two plates of gnocchi. He laid a napkin in Will’s lap. 

“Daddy feed me?”

Sometimes he would happily indulge in babying Will. But part of him wanted to test this out, so he smiled and gestured at the Winnie the Pooh cutlery beside his plate. 

“Now darling, I know you can feed yourself like a big boy. Then perhaps we can watch something on the television.”

Will kicked his feet out and they clunked against the underside of the bench. He crossed his arms and shook his head. 

“Don’t wanna.”

Hannibal sighed. He would not give in. So he continued to eat his own meal while Will sat, pouting at his food. 

Hannibal was halfway through when Will reached out and grabbed a piece of gnocchi, putting it into his mouth and chewing. He cleared his throat. 

“Will. We use cutlery when we eat our pasta, please.”

Will ignored him and picked up another piece of gnocchi with his fingers, smearing sauce on his cheek on purpose as he ate it. 

Hannibal continued to eat, watching Will out of the corner of his eye. The boy kept eating messily, wiping his hands on his pyjama top and spreading pasta sauce on the bench. 

“Will, I will give you one more opportunity to pick up your cutlery and eat properly. Now.”

Instead, Will used his elbows to push the little spoon and fork off the bench and onto the floor. Hannibal sighed and took the napkin off his lap. He grabbed Will’s wrist and pulled him away from the bench.  

“No! Leggo!”

Hannibal dragged him over to the sink where he washed his hands and wiped Will’s face with a damp paper towel. 

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you. I know you’re upset sweetheart, but you need to tell daddy what’s wrong. Perhaps I can help.”

Will squirmed and escaped Hannibal’s grip. 

“YOU CAN’T HELP!”

Hannibal was taken aback at Will’s outburst, but even more shocked when Will kicked him hard in the shin, then ran off.

“Will! William, come back here!”

Hannibal rubbed his shin. It wasn’t particularly sore, more surprising than anything. While little Will was sometimes naughty, he was never physically violent. Hannibal felt in his pocket and pulled out the little mother doll that Will had taken from Alana’s dollhouse. He turned it over in his hand and then looked at the dirty bench, then went to look for Will. 

Hannibal found him in the library. He was sitting on the couch with Mr Bear propped up beside him. Hannibal went to sit next to him, moving Mr Bear and holding him out to Will, who shook his head. Hannibal wondered if perhaps he had aged back up. 

Hannibal then produced the little mother doll and placed it on the arm of the couch, right next to Will.

He stayed silent, rubbed his eyes. 

“I found her in your pocket Will. Who is she?”

Will’s shoulders lifted in a small shrug. He took the doll and held it in his hand.

“She’s nobody.”

The tone of his voice and language indicated that little Will had retreated.

“Why did you take her?”

“She…she didn’t belong in the house.”

Will was beginning to get upset. He willed himself not to. But the pull was strong between his little self and his adult mindset. Hannibal proceeded very carefully. 

“I want you to close your eyes Will. Listen to my voice. Take a deep breath. Now.”

He obeyed. Hannibal crossed the room to get the metronome from the desk. He wound it up, set the rhythm and it began to tick, tick, tick. He sat back down and took one of Will’s hands in his own.

“Who is the doll, Will?”

“It’s…she’s my mother.”

“Why doesn’t she belong? Why doesn’t she belong in the house?”

Will paused. He was relaxing slowly. He licked his lips. 

“She wasn’t there. And she’s not here.”

“What happened to her Will? Where did she go?”

Will rarely talked about his mother or his father, or his life before the FBI. Even though he and Hannibal knew many intimate things about each other, family life was not something they had talked about in anything more than passing conversation. 

“She died. When I was little.”

“I’m sorry. That must have been hard on you. And your father.”

Will’s hand tightened around Hannibal’s at the mention of his father. His eye’s fluttered open and he looked at Hannibal. 

“I’m sorry I kicked you, Hannibal.”

Hannibal gave a smile and rubbed the back of Will’s hand with the pad of his thumb. He knew the apology was twofold, and that Will didn’t wish to talk about his mother any further.

“Quite alright. No harm done Will.”

“Can we finish dinner?”

“Of course.”

They went back into the kitchen. Will reheated the pasta in the microwave while Hannibal picked the cutlery off the floor and wiped down the bench. As Will sat back down, Hannibal looked at him. 

“Do you want to get changed, Will?”

Will glanced down at his clothing, only now registering the feeling of the thick pull-up between his thighs. He shook his head.

“No, it can wait.”

They ate in silence, Will trying not to dwell too much on his little self’s earlier errant behaviour. When they were done, they cleaned up, silently side by side.

“Shall we watch a movie?”

Will shrugged and yawned. 

“Sure.”

Hannibal switched off the kitchen lights and they went through to the living room. Hannibal turned on the TV and they settled on a Russian film he had recorded earlier in the week. They shifted to get comfortable; Will lying against Hannibal, his head on his shoulder and one arm snaked around his waist. He yawned. 

During a quiet part of the movie, Will spoke. 

“It was nicer than the dollhouse my dad made me.”

Hannibal turned the volume down, keeping an eye on the subtitles as they flashed up on the screen. Will’s hand inched towards his mouth and he yawned.

“Hmm?”

“My dad. He made me a dollhouse when I was six. Right after she died.”

He pulled his arm tighter around Will’s shoulders, lips ghosting his curls. 

“What was your dollhouse like?”

“It was small. Built from pieces of old wooden crate my dad had found by the side of the road. It was, you could say, rustic.”

Hannibal smiled. He let Will talk.

“Never mind that I was a six year old boy in Louisiana who wanted a dollhouse. But he’d have done anything for me. He did the best he could.”

“He did indeed.”

Will shifted closer to Hannibal. He was so quiet for some time after that Hannibal thought perhaps he had fallen asleep. But when he glanced down, he saw that Will was sucking on his thumb, watching the screen but not entirely paying attention. 

They finished the movie and Will murmured something around his thumb.

“Hmm? Darling speak up, I can’t understand.”

“Had’n accident daddy.”

Hannibal switched off the television and took Will’s hand. 

“That’s alright darling. We’ll go and get you cleaned up and then off to bed, what do you say?’

He nodded and allowed himself to be led upstairs to Hannibal’s bedroom. It was a small accident, and he didn’t protest when he was laid down on the bed and Hannibal produced a diaper and other changing supplies. 

Hannibal moved quickly, pulling down Will’s pyjama pants that were thankfully still dry, and removing the sodden pull-up. He cleaned Will’s groin with a baby wipe and taped him into a thick night-time diaper, patting him reassuringly as he pulled his pants back up. 

Hannibal took him into the bathroom where he brushed Will’s teeth and was about to take Will to his room when the boy stopped in his tracks and tugged on Hannibal’s hand. 

“I sleep in here daddy?”

“Alright. Just for tonight darling boy.”

Will climbed into the bed, burrowing underneath the covers. He sat up suddenly and gasped. Hannibal was in the bathroom, tidying up. 

“What is it, Will?”

“Mr Bear. He all alone!”

“Don’t fret. I’ll go and get him. You snuggle back down under the covers, warm up the bed for daddy and Mr Bear.”

Will smiled for the first time that evening and obeyed. A moment later, Hannibal returned, handing Will the stuffed toy and a pacifier which he gratefully popped in his mouth, sucking it rapidly. 

Hannibal changed into his own pyjamas and climbed into bed, Will immediately clinging to him like a limpet. Hannibal laughed.

“My dear, someone is snuggly tonight.”

Will nuzzled into his chest, Mr Bear tucked under his arm. He yawned around the pacifier as Hannibal ran his hands through his hair. With his free arm, he reached for the novel on his bedside table and read as Will drifted off to sleep, the pacifier stilling eventually against his lips.

Hannibal smoothed the hair off Will’s forehead and kissed him. 

“Sleep well, my dear little boy. Sleep well.”


	3. Epilogue

“Now Will, keep your eyes shut. Are they closed?”

“Uh-huh!”

Will was grinning and almost trembling with excitement. Hannibal held his shoulders as he steered Will into the study and over to the table by the window. 

“Open your eyes, darling.”

Will obeyed and rubbed his eyes. There was something big on the table, but it was hidden under a satin sheet. Will hopped from one foot to the other.

“Oooh! What is it daddy? Is it for me?”

Hannibal came to stand in front of Will, putting his hand on his shoulders. 

“It is darling. But you must promise to look after it, and you will play nicely with Matthew or Alana or Margot if they come to visit. It is a toy to be shared, yes?”

“Of course. But oh daddy, show me what it is?”

Hannibal laughed, ruffling Will’s hair. He took a corner of the sheet and pulled it back carefully. 

Will gasped, clapping his hands over his mouth.

It was a dollhouse, a beautiful, large Southern home, completely furnished and finished with only the best. Will was speechless. He didn’t want to touch it for fear that he was dreaming and the house was disappear in a puff of smoke. 

He stepped towards it tentatively. 

“Is…is it…is it for me daddy?”

Hannibal kept his had on Will’s back.

“Of course it is for you.”

Tears formed in Will’s eyes. He had never had anything so beautiful as an actual child and the emotions that rose up in him were conflicting with his adult self. 

He ran his fingertip over the chimney on the roof, then carefully pulled open the front of the house. The inside was huge. There was a kitchen, a living room, study and sitting room downstairs. Bedrooms upstairs, including a baby’s room. 

Hannibal watched as Will took everything in, impressed but not surprised by his restraint at not wanting to touch anything. 

“Do you like it Will?”

Will nodded silently. 

“Who built it daddy?”

“Why, I did Will.”

“But how?”

“I kept it in my shed in the garden, and worked on it little by little until it was done. I’m glad you like it.”

A tear ran down Will’s cheek and he hastily rubbed it away.

“I…I love it. But where are the dolls?”

“Ah! I’m glad you asked.”

Hannibal pulled a small wooden suitcase out from under the table. He gestured for Will to sit on the couch and he lay the box on Will’s lap. 

“Open it.”

Will slowly opened the box and he gasped again. 

Inside, nestled in felt-lined partitioned compartments were miniature versions of himself, Hannibal and all of their friends. Even Uncle Frederick. Even grown-up Will’s dogs.

Will’s fingers ghosted over them. They were so lifelike, every detail accounted for, even Matty’s sticking out ears, Jack’s patch of hair under his chin and Margot’s dimples. 

But there was a space where one doll was missing. Will’s fingers hovered over it and he gave a small frown. 

“Who lives here daddy?”

Hannibal paused. He wasn’t sure about this, but Will had responded well so far. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the little mother doll that Will had taken from Alana’s dollhouse weeks ago. 

He handed it to Will, who held it, stroked her hair.

“B...but this is Alana’s doll.”

“It’s yours now, Will. And while I don’t condone taking things that aren’t yours, I have been able to come to an arrangement for this with your Uncle Jack and Alana.”

Will looked down again at the little mother doll. Tears fell and he dropped it into the box, covering his face with his hands. Hannibal put his arms around the boy.

“Oh my darling boy. Don’t cry. Don’t be sad. Daddy didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“I…I know daddy. But it’s just so beautiful. I never had anything so beautiful. Thank you daddy.”

Hannibal pulled out his handkerchief, dried Will’s face and let him blow his nose. 

“You’re welcome Will. Now, would you like to play with your new dollhouse while I make us some lunch?”

Will’s face lit up and he stood, holdng the box, and approached the dollhouse. 

“Good boy. Matthew will be over later this afternoon for a playdate. I’m sure you’ll play nice with him.”

As Hannibal turned to leave the room, Will called out to him. 

“Hannibal, wait.”

He turned, slowly. Will walked over and hugged him, tight. 

“I mean it. Thank you for this. I can’t have imagined having anything this nice. For me or for little Will.”

Hannibal brushed the back of his fingers against Will’s cheek fondly.

“I told you you’d never want for anything. Big or little, I will give you the world.”

Will ducked his head slightly and smiled. 

“Thank you.”

Then he scampered back to the dollhouse, pulling out the dolls and arranging them in the various rooms, Hannibal smiling as Will hummed to himself happily. 


End file.
